Lauren went on to study Illustration at Maryland Institute College of Art, spending part of her senior year abroad in Sorrento, Italy, where she developed a passion for drawing on location.After receiving her BFA, she moved to New York City and attended SVA's Illustration on Visual Essay program and in the summer of 2005 she collected her Master's degree and first children's book deal!

Lauren now lives in Brooklyn, NY where she happily writes and draws stories for a living. Her client list includes: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Clarion,(an imprint of Houghton Mifflin), Bloomsbury, Henry Holt, Star Bright Books, Breakfast Serials, Inc., Wayne State University Press, and Cricket Magazine.

For more about Lauren, please visit her web site at www.laurencastillo.com or her news page at laurencastillo.blogspot.com

Books

• WHAT HAPPENS ON WEDNESDAYS, written by Emily Jenkins; Frances Foster/FSG, Fall 2007
• THE PIG AND MISS PRUDENCE, written by Linda Stanek; Star Bright Books, Spring 2008
• BUFFALO MUSIC, written by Tracey Fern; Clarion, Spring 2008
• THAT'S PAPA'S WAY, written by Kate Banks; Frances Foster Books, Spring 2009
• BIG CAT PEPPER, written by Elizabeth Partridge; Bloomsbury, Spring 2009
• ALFIE RUNS AWAY, written by Kenneth Cadow; Frances Foster Books/FSG, Forthcoming Spring 2010
• MELVIN; Henry Holt, Fall 2010

Book Reviews

WHAT HAPPENS ON WEDNESDAYS, Frances Foster Books/FSG Fall 2007 * Published in France 1/2008

AWARDS:

• CCBC Choice (Univ. of WI)
• Parents' Choice Award Winner
• Charlotte Zolotow Award / Highly Commended
• Booklist Editors' Choice 2007
• Bloomberg Best Children's Books of 2007
• Newsday's Best Children's Books of 2007

REVIEW QUOTES:

"In an extremely promising debut, Castillo envelops the young narrator in warm tones...and renders figures and settings in a naive style while picking out rich elements...in a manner consistent with a child’s intense but often selective memory for details."--Starred, Booklist

“Castillo’s illustrations evoke Margot Zemach, with thick smudgy lines and a wintertime palette that celebrates the leafless beauty and energy of this intimate patch of Brooklyn."--Starred, Kirkus Reviews

"Radiant mixed-media art by a debut illustrator captures the warmth and candor in Jenkins's sparkling slice-of-life tale." --Starred, Publishers Weekly

“Castillo’s slightly impressionistic mixed- media illustrations give viewers a real feel for the youngster’s Brooklyn neighborhood.” --School Library Journal

"The voice is pitch perfect." --The New York Times

"Readers . . . will be glad to be reminded of the joy to be found in everyday routines." --The Christian Science Monitor

“It's a valentine to the city and the pleasures of everyday life.” --Bloomberg News

BUFFALO MUSIC, Clarion Books Spring 2008 *Junior Library Guild Premier Selection

AWARDS:

• 2009 ALA Notable Book
• 2008 June Franklin Naylor Award
• School Library Journal Best Book of 2008
• Association on Booksellers for Children (ABC) 2008 best books for children

REVIEW QUOTES: “Fern's debut is auspicious. Her homespun expressions allow Molly’s straightforward sentiment to shine. Castillo’s smudgy illustrations recall Glen Rounds and invest both Molly and the buffalo calves with enormous personality. Together they make this story one with widespread appeal.” --Starred, Kirkus Reviews

“Fern's lyrical text and Castillo's folk-style art- work beautifully capture the era and events. Done in warm, earthy hues, the mixed-media illustrations depict a rugged landscape of grays and browns speckled with touches of color-wildflowers or bright blooms on a tree... the characters shimmer with vitality and Molly's affection for her fuzzy-coated orphans is tenderly depicted. Buffalo Music is perfectly suited to a young audience, clearly conveying the magnitude of the decimation and the importance of conservation efforts.”--Starred, SLJ

THE PIG AND MISS PRUDENCE Star Bright Books Spring 2008

REVIEW:

The exuberant art style of Lauren Castillo adds high-energy to the hijinks, while the cheerful prose of author Linda Stanek immerses the reader in a world gone by. --Midwest Book Review